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Germany’s top court ruled on Thursday that police can secretly install spy software on phones and computers only for serious crimes.
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German high court has limited the use of police spy software to serious criminal investigations.
The court called the use of spyware a “serious interference” with privacy rights.
The ruling came from a complaint by a digital rights group that a 2017 law was too broad.
Police cannot use spyware to investigate crimes, as this would violate the law, which carries a maximum sentence of three years.
Digital rights group Digitalcourage in Germany raised concerns about a 2017 reform that permits police to use spy software to monitor encrypted chats, such as WhatsApp, which could impact innocent individuals as well.
The court stated that the 2017 reform of the criminal procedure code was too vague about surveillance areas.
The court states that this kind of surveillance is a serious invasion and should only be used for investigating extremely serious crimes.
As a result, police cannot monitor telecommunications when investigating crimes that carry a maximum sentence of three years as they are not serious enough.
The court stated that investigators’ ability to secretly search suspects’ computers and smartphones partially conflicts with Germany’s Basic Law, but this will continue until new regulations are established.
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